Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has launched gas supplies to the country from a field in the Black Sea. The ceremony took place at the Filyos gas processing complex in Zonguldak province in northern Turkey.
According to Mr. Erdogan, at the first stage, 10 million cubic meters of gas will be supplied from the Sakarya field. m of gas per day, and the second – 40 million cubic meters. The Turkish President noted that the project will cover 30% of the country’s gas needs. “We launched this project in a record 32 months. Turkey today has taken a huge step towards energy independence,” announced Recep Tayyip Erdogan (quoted from Anadolu).
He promised that the people of Turkey would not pay for the gas used in the kitchen and for hot water consumption during the year. “In addition, all households are exempted from all gas payments for a month,” Mr. Erdogan added.
Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said that Turkey’s explored gas reserves in the Black Sea amount to about 710 billion cubic meters. m, which is enough to meet its domestic demand for 35 years, reports TASS. Local authorities expected that gas from the Black Sea field would begin to flow into homes in the first week of May. Initially, deliveries were supposed to begin in March, but plans were postponed due to major earthquakes that occurred in February.
Bloomberg reported that with the help of gas production from new fields, Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants to cope with economic instability in the country. Director General of the Turkish Oil Company Melih Khan Bilgin said that even after the launch of a new field, Ankara will continue to buy Russian gas. Türkiye annually receives more than 40% of all imported gas from Russia.
